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This past May, Broward County, Florida Sheriff Gregory Tony hosted a tour of the Broward Sheriff’s Office’s (BSO) state-of-the-art Research, Development, and Training Center (RDTC). The event, billed as a faith-based outreach effort, drew over 50 religious leaders. However, among those granted front-row access to BSO’s cutting-edge public safety technologies were persons with documented ties to Islamic extremism and terror-linked groups – exactly the type of individuals the BSO should be wary about sharing such information with.
Photos from the tour, published online, show Sheriff Tony smiling and standing arm-in-arm with three especially troubling figures: Imam Ibrahim Dremali, a Hamas supporter who called for the extermination of Jews; Rasheed Mahamad, who is associated with radical Muslim institutions and those promoting Holocaust denial; and Corey Shearer, the Florida Organizer for Emgage, a group tied to Islamist political activism. These individuals were not random invitees but well-known figures with concerning backgrounds and affiliations.
Ibrahim Dremali: A Cleric Who Called for the Eradication of Israel’s Jews
Imam Ibrahim Dremali is no ordinary religious figure – he is a dangerous radical with a long history of spewing violent anti-Israel and anti-Semitic rhetoric. During a May 2021 interview, Dremali proclaimed, “The people, they want to make jihad. The people want to open the border… [I]f the Arab leaders open the borders of Palestine… the Jews, they’ll be inside that ocean.” This genocidal statement echoes the same hatred that inspired the October 7 Hamas massacre in Israel, and Dremali may have even had advance knowledge of the attack.
This past June, after his nephew was killed during the fighting in the war in Gaza, Dremali vengefully wrote, “I ask Allah to bomb the Zionists and everyone who helped, supported, assisted, and normalized relations with them.” Also in June, when Iran targeted Israel’s civilian neighborhoods with missile attacks, Dremali posted a photo of demolished Israeli apartment buildings, writing, “This destruction is not in Gaza, but this bombing is in Tel Aviv. O Allah, increase the bombing and destruction and take the lives of those in it.”
Beyond words, Dremali – who grew up in Gaza and has admitted interaction with Hamas’s founder, Ahmed Yassin – has encouraged material support for Hamas, calling on others to provide financial assistance to the terrorist organization. This is in blatant defiance of U.S. law.
Rasheed Mahamad: Connected to Radical Mosques and Promoters of Holocaust Denial
Also in attendance was Rasheed Mahamad, a notable member of the Islamic Center of South Florida (ICOSF), where he has served on the board and is involved in both armed security and religious outreach. ICOSF is owned by the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT), the deed holder for many of the most radical mosques across America. NAIT was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the largest terrorism financing trial in U.S. history – the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) trial – where multiple individuals were convicted for funneling millions of dollars to Hamas.
ICOSF has dangerously aligned itself with Fadi Kablawi, a radical imam notorious for his vicious attacks on Jews, Christians, gays, women, and house pets. Despite his venomous rhetoric, Kablawi has been repeatedly invited by ICOSF to lead Friday sermons. About Jews, Kablawi has stated, Jews are “the lowest of the lowest” and “deserve the wrath of Allah.” About jihad, Kablawi has said, “[J]ihad is when you put your life on the line… Real jihad is not climbing walls. Real jihad is climbing over people’s necks and heads and skulls.”
Not surprisingly, Rasheed Mahamad has used his social media to promote Kablawi.
Mahamad also served as Vice President and Treasurer of the American Muslim Association of North America (AMANA), a group led by notorious Hamas supporter Sofian Zakkout. Zakkout has organized pro-Hamas rallies and promoted Holocaust denial. Due to public pressure arising from evidence provided by this author, Zakkout was ousted from the boards of two prominent crime prevention organizations – Citizens’ Crime Watch and Crime Stoppers.
Mahamad’s Facebook page cover photo depicts him standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Zakkout.
Corey Shearer and Emgage: Islamist Activism Masquerading as Civic Engagement
The third extremist attendee was Corey Shearer (a.k.a. Kareem Saalam), the Florida Outreach Specialist and Organizing Associate of Emgage, an entity that presents itself as a civic and political advocacy group for Muslims but has deep ties to dangerous Islamists. Emgage is a member organization of the South Florida Muslim Federation (SFMF), an umbrella group for South Florida’s radical Muslim institutions and an organizer of pro-Hamas conferences.
Emgage has a history of placing extremists in leadership positions. The group’s former South Florida Director, Syed Ammar Ahmed, once infamously joked that he “should have threatened to blow up” a school where he had been invited to participate in a debate. Additionally, the founder and former Chairman of Emgage, Khurrum Wahid, was reported to have been placed on a federal terrorist watch list in 2011.
Shearer, in particular, has promoted Islamic Relief, a global organization that has been banned by several countries, such as Israel and the United Arab Emirates, for its alleged links to terrorist financing, including ties to Hamas.
Sheriff Tony’s Immigration Comments and Courting of Muslim Radicals
The RDTC tour took place in May, just prior to the intense scrutiny surrounding Sheriff Tony over comments he made regarding U.S. immigration policy. Tony had issued a statement that gave off the appearance that the BSO would not cooperate with immigration enforcement conducted by ICE – comments that elicited a warning from Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier that the Sheriff could face removal if he does not help enforce immigration law.
Is the Sheriff’s embrace of Muslim radicals a symptom of his alleged non-action concerning immigration?
Sheriff Gregory Tony’s hosting of this tour was not simply a matter of outreach or good public relations. It was an alarming example of Broward law enforcement leadership turning a blind eye – or extending an open arm – to individuals who pose a potential threat to the community. Indeed, Sheriff Tony – along with his right-hand man, Executive Officer to the Sheriff Colonel Munib Ahmed, who also smiled for photos with Shearer – has been openly courting the radical Muslim community since he came to power.
Shearer, following the tour, posted gleefully on social media: “Honored to tour (for a second time) BSO’s state-of-the-art Research, Development and Training Center (R.D.T.C.) Special thanks to our hosts, Sheriff Gregory Tony and Apostle John Mohorn… Broward is back!”
Sheriff Tony himself celebrated the occasion, stating: “Strengthening our relationship with faith-based leaders remains a priority, as we work together to foster trust, collaboration and community resilience…”
What kind of “trust” and “community resilience” is being built when those embraced are aligned with individuals and ideologies that celebrate terrorism, call for the destruction of Israel, and promote bigotry?
Beila Rabinowitz, Director of Militant Islam Monitor, contributed to this report.
